Storm Update: Dead Body Found Rain-Swollen Creek

Update, 4:30 p.m. Friday:

Carbonera Drive is now open to through traffic because the downed trees have been cleared, Santa Cruz police reported.

Update, 1:45 p.m. Friday:

A dead man was found floating in Soquel Creek behind Nob Hill Foods around 11 a.m. Friday, local media reported. His death is under investigation.

The storm system battering the region moving southeast through the Bay Area late Friday morning and is expected to soak the entire region for the rest of the day, forecaster Diana Henderson said.

In the past 24 hours the Santa Cruz Mountains were deluged with 7 inches.

There were several issues on county roads by early afternoon:

• Carbonera Drive in Santa Cruz will be closed indefinitely to through traffic in the 100 block, due to downed trees, Santa Cruz police reported.
• The Santa Cruz Sentinel is reporting that West Beach Road was flooded near San Andreas Road but remained open as of noon. Read more here.
• Boulders fell onto Hwy. 17 near Crescent Drive and Mount Hermon Road, the California Highway Patrol reported just after 12 p.m.
• Water pooled on Hwy. 1 near Morrissey Boulevard, according to the CHP.

At mid-day, 1,400 customers were without power in the Santa Cruz Mountains and an additional 1,300 customers were affected in Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey counties, according to PG&E.

Update, 8:30 a.m. Friday:

The stormy weather is back.

About 1,250 PG&E customers remain without power along the Central Coast Friday morning because of storm-related outages, a utility spokeswoman said.

Some mountainous areas had received more than 4 inches of rain by 6 a.m. Friday, according to 24-hour rainfall totals tallied by the National Weather Service, though most areas of Santa Cruz County were receiving heavier rain later in the morning.

And the precipitation is causing problems on Santa Cruz County roads Friday morning.

• Downed trees blocked Hwy. 9 at La Madrona.
• There was small mud flow on Amesti and Pioneer roads.
• Hwy. 17 is wet, wet, wet. Drive slow.

Rainfall totals for 6 a.m. Thursday to 6 a.m. Friday were not remarkable, but more precipitation is on the way. Soquel got 1.38 inches of rain; 1.03 was recorded in Felton; 0.95 inches fell in Ben Lomond and the Watsonville  Airport received 0.40 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service. More than 4 inches of rain fell in the Lexington Hills in Santa Clara County.

As of 8 a.m., about 1,250 PG&E customers were without power along the Central Coast, PG&E spokeswoman Jana Morris said. About 7,600 customers were without power across the San Fransisco Bay Area; the storm had caused outages to nearly 16,000 customers at its peak overnight, according to PG&E.

Here are some storm safety tips from PG&E.

Original Story, 5 p.m. Thursday:

Hope you enjoyed Thursday's relatively clear skies because the next onslaught of wind and rain hits the Monterey Bay Area this evening and is expected to worsen Friday.

The flash flood watches go into effect at 7 p.m. for parts of the Monterey Bay area and Santa Cruz Mountains. That's where several inches of rain is expected to fall, according to the National Weather Service.

"Santa Cruz Mountains expected to receive abundant rainfall through weekend," the NWS posted on its Facebook page, which is a consistent source of storm updates.

While flooding is not likely on the San Lorenzo, there likely will be a quick rise of water levels. Felton Grove and Paradise Park should be be OK, but the Natioanl Weather Service advised residents there to stay tuned for updates.

The Pajaro River also is not expected to rise to monitor or flood stage, according to NWS.

A high wind advisory starts at 8 a.m. Friday. Wind gust will be enough to blow down trees and power lines, problems that many areas have already experienced this week. Gusts Friday could reach 60 mph. The wind advisory is in effect until 7 a.m. Monday.

A high surf advisory along the Monterey Bay coast will also be issued at 9 a.m. Friday and continue through 4 a.m. Saturday. Swells are anticipated to reach up to 16 feet, and local beaches may experience rip currents and erosion from the strong waves and surf.

Stormy weather will last through the weekend. The rain will let up Monday, but more wet weather is expected Tuesday.

—Bay City News contributed to the report.